September 19, 2008

DOORPOST FILM PROJECT RECOGNIZES TOP SHORTS

VIEW THE WINNING SHORTS

The Doorpost Film Project, in its inaugural year, is an international online short filmmaking festival designed to serve and expose visionary filmmakers. The project convened in Nashville last week for its culminating symposium and awards ceremony.

In addition to the grand prize, Gray was also awarded with meeting opportunities in Los Angeles with development studio executives at motion picture studios. The contest also awarded $30,000 to second place winner, Nashville's Erik Hollander, and $20,000 to LA-based filmmaker Bragi Schut, who took third place. Hollander's emotionally-charged short, Alius Primorus, tackled a father's guilt over his estranged relationship with his son who he lost on 9/11, while Schut's light-hearted Charlie Thistle follows the protagonist's humorous journey of self-discovery working at the Department of Normality.

The awards presentation was attended by special guest/producer Ralph Winter (X-Men, Fantastic Four, Star Trek series, The Visitation, Mighty Joe Young), who conducted a Q&A with each of the winning filmmakers. The Festival itself was captured via a live stream to the Doorpost Website (www.thedoorpost.com), where online viewers could watch the night unfold.

"The Doorpost's primary objective is to locate and then equip emerging filmmakers in the entertainment industry, while encouraging a serious dialog about film's ability to enact change in the world," notes Nathan Elliott, director of the Project. "The response was enormous. Doorpost received nearly 300 submissions, and the Website received over 250,000 hits from more than 122 countries around the world - a reflection of people's excitement and hunger for this type of project.  We are already looking toward 2009 being even more successful."